The invention relates to a device for determining the location of a first mechanical element and a second mechanical element with respect to each other, with a first measurement unit for positioning at the first mechanical element and a second measurement unit for positioning at the second mechanical element as well as an analysis unit, with at least one of the two measurement units having a light source for producing a light beam whose point of impingement on at least one surface at the other measurement unit is determined.
Such a device can be designed, for example, for determining the alignment of two shafts with respect to each other, for determining the straightness or aligned orientation of bores, for determining the straightness of edges, or for level determination of various points of a surface.
Typically, for determining the alignment of shafts with respect to each other, the location of the point of impingement of the light beam is determined in a plurality of rotational angle positions, for which purpose the measurement units are displaced along the peripheral surfaces of the shafts or the shafts are rotated together with the measurement units positioned at the peripheral surfaces.
Described in DE 33 35 336 A1 is a shaft alignment measurement device in which both the first measurement unit and the second measurement unit each emit a light beam and each has an optical detector, with the light beam in each case being directed onto the detector of the other measurement unit.
A shaft alignment measurement device operating according to this principle is also described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,873,931 B1, with the two measurement units each being provided with two biaxial acceleration sensors for automatically detecting the rotational angle of the shaft.
Known from DE 38 14 466 A1 is a shaft alignment measurement device in which the first measurement unit emits a light beam, which impinges on two optical detectors of the second measurement unit, which are arranged behind one another in the axial direction.
Known from WO 03/067187 A1 is a shaft alignment measurement device in which the first measurement unit emits a fan-shaped beam, which impinges on two optical detectors of the second measurement unit, which are arranged behind one another in the axial direction.
Known from WO 00/28275 A1 is a shaft alignment measurement device in which two measurement units are attached to a front side of each of the two shafts, with the first measurement unit emitting a fan-shaped light beam, which impinges laterally on three marker pins arranged in a plane of the second measurement device.
Described in EP 2 093 537 A1 is a shaft alignment measurement device in which the first measurement unit emits a fanned-out light beam, which impinges on two optical strip detectors of the second measurement unit, which are arranged laterally spaced and parallel to each other, with the lengthwise direction of the detectors being arranged perpendicularly to the fanned plane of the light beam.
Described in EP 0 543 971 B1 is a device for determining the alignment of a turbine bore with respect to a reference axis, with a laser beam representing the reference axis being directed onto a biaxial optical detector, which has a foot that is placed against the bore wall and is shifted along the latter in the peripheral direction in order to determine the point of impingement of the laser at a plurality of rotational angles.
Described in US 2007/0201040 A1 is a device for determining the level of a plurality of measurement points on a surface, with a laser beam that rotates in a horizontal plane at constant angular speed is directed onto a biaxial optical detector positioned at the respective measurement point in order to determine the height of the measurement point from the vertical component of the point of impingement and to determine the angle and the distance of the measurement point with respect to the laser source from the time point and time duration of the horizontal sweep of the detector. A similar device is described in EP 1 473 540 A1, with the laser beam being directed onto the detector by means of a rotating pentagonal prism and having an intensity profile that depends on a rotational angle, on the basis of which the angle of the measurement point can be determined.
For all of the measurement devices assessed here, the point of impingement of a light beam on a detector surface is determined and analyzed in each case.
Known from DE 40 41 723 A1 is a device for determining the position of a measurement point relative to a reference point for guiding or controlling the advance of a bore, said device having a plurality of measurement stations, which are arranged in the bore or at the bore head and each of which has a camera with a marking, with each camera recording the marking of the adjacent camera or measurement station.
Known from WO 2010/042039 A1 is a shaft alignment measurement device in which each of the two measurement units is provided with a camera arranged in a housing, with the side of the housing facing the other unit being provided with an optical pattern, which is recorded by the opposite-lying camera. The side of the housing provided with the pattern is provided in each case with an opening, through which the opposite-lying pattern is imaged. In an alternative design, one of the two units is provided only with a camera, but not with a pattern, whereas the other unit does not have a camera, but is provided with a three-dimensional pattern.
Described in EP 1 211 480 A2 is a shaft alignment measurement device in which the first measurement unit is provided with a light source, which directs a light beam onto the second measurement unit, which is provided with a matt screen; the side of the matt screen facing away from the first measurement unit is imaged by means of appropriate optics onto an image detector also forming a part of the second measurement unit.
Described in DE 101 43 812 A1 and DE 101 17 390 A1 is a shaft alignment measurement device in which the first measurement unit has a light source for producing a fanned-out beam and the opposite-lying second measurement unit has a partially reflecting optical system with a rearward matt screen and a camera, which records the side of the matt screen facing away from the first measurement unit with a primary light spot of the beam coming directly from the light source and with a secondary light spot of the beam reflected from the partially reflecting optical system of the second measurement unit and a reflector on the front side of the first measurement unit.
A laser receiver with camera for machine measurement is available from the company Wente CamSorik GmbH, 38108 Braunschweig, Germany, under the trade name LaserTrac.